Constitution of the Bancroft Middle School Student Council
WE the Scholars of the Bancroft Middle
School, in order to form a more perfect school, provide for the representation of the voice of the Middle School students, promote the school spirit, and establish an organized policy for the effective operation of student government, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Bancroft Middle School Student Council.
Article I-Role of the Student Council
Section I-Mission Statement: The student council was created to represent the voice of the middle school students. As elected leaders of the community, we listen to ideas and concerns, and see that they are properly addressed. We are responsible for organizing social events, in collaboration with other Bancroft groups, including the administration, faculty, and PFA. It is also our responsibility to raise awareness around a specified charity each year. Through initiative, collaboration, and leadership, we strive to enhance the spirit of the middle school community.
Section II-Specific Duties of the Student Council: It shall be the responsibility of the Student Council to:
· Serve as a democratic forum for the discussion of issues relevant to students
· Handle all student proposals efficiently
· Organize four Dances and various social events every school year
· Maintain a Canteen for the sale of snacks to students
· Support charity on behalf of the Middle School, including one specific charity chosen at the beginning of each school year
· Organize the weekly Assembly through its Executive Board
Article II-Members and Officers
Section I-The Members: The voting membership of Student Council shall consist of one President, one Vice President, one Secretary, one Treasurer, and four representatives of each sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be the Officers of student council and shall be referred to collectively as its Executive Board. The Student Council shall additionally have Faculty Advisors, nonvoting, to assist it in its duties.
Section II-General Requirements for Membership: Being a member of Student Council is a privilege and an honor. In order to assure the highest standards possible in governing a student body, certain standards must be met by those holding Student Council offices or running for them. All members and candidates shall be required to:
· Maintain acceptable grade point averages
· Hold the school’s best interests at heart and abide by its regulations
· Be willing and able to represent all students and treat everyone fairly
· Be willing to lead and aware of the responsibilities of office
Section III-Specific Requirements: To this end, a person may be denied the privilege of holding or standing for election to Student Council office who shall fail to maintain an academic average of no less than seventy percent (70%) with passing grades in all courses taken and subjects studied, or who shall have been, within one year of office or candidacy therefore, suspended from the Bancroft School or placed on Disciplinary Probation therein, or who shall have ever been removed from Student Council office pursuant to Article VI.
Section IV-Enforcement: Denials of candidature shall be by Student Council Faculty Advisers; removals under the provisions of this Article shall be by the Head of Middle School.
Article III-Duties of Members and Officers
All Members and Officers of Student Council shall have roles and duties based on their respective positions as follows:
President:
· Facilitate all student council meetings and act as Chair
· Open the weekly assembly
· Coordinate activities and delegate responsibility
· Act as a role model for the student body
Vice President:
· Collaborate with President in all duties
· Step in for absent president at all meetings and assemblies
· Maintain all organizational aspects of social events
· Act as a role model for the student body
Secretary:
· Compile agenda for meetings in conjunction with executive board
· Record and post minutes from each meeting
· Photocopy and distribute all student council memoranda
· Collect proposals and present them to Student Council
· Act as a role model for the student body
Treasurer:
· Maintain schedule for canteen operation
· Monitor status of the canteen moneybox
· Serve as point person for money collection at social events
· Act as a role model for the student body
Grade Representatives:
· Attend all meetings
· Contribute to meetings with ideas, suggestions, and adjustments
· Support executive board by conducting research and performing necessary tasks at student council events
· Attend all student council events
· Act as role models for the student body
Faculty Advisors:
· Facilitate executive board meetings
· Mediate discussions at student council meetings (if necessary)
· Coordinate interaction between the student council and the administration, faculty, and PFA
Failure to fulfill these roles and perform these duties effectively is reasonable cause for discipline as described under Article VI.
Article IV-Means of Transaction of Business
Section I-Meetings: The Student Council shall meet once weekly, during Clubs/Menu block, and the Executive Board shall have a separate weekly meeting at any time they may collectively establish. Until such time as other times for meetings are determined, the general Student Council shall meet on Mondays during the period stated, and the Executive Board shall meet on Tuesdays during Luncheon. General Student Council meetings shall be for the purpose of considering student proposals and responding to the requests and orders of the Middle School faculty and administration. Executive Board meetings shall be for the purpose of communicating Student Council proposals to the Head of Middle School and planning the weekly Assembly.
Section II-Quorum: No formal business may be transacted without the presence of a Student Council quorum, which shall consist of three-fourths of all members, including the President or the Vice-President, an additional Officer (who may be the other of the aforementioned), and two Representatives of each grade. In addition, at least one Faculty Adviser must be present at every meeting.
Section III-Proposals: Any Bancroft Middle School student may make a Proposal to the Student Council by submitting a letter describing the action proposed and the rationale for it to the Secretary. A Proposal may be passed by a majority vote provided that it does not conflict with this Constitution, in which case it must be passed as an Amendment. A passed Proposal shall be edited to address the Head of Middle School rather than the Student Council and in any other way ordered by the Student Council and then presented to the Head of Middle School.
Section IV-Debate: Prior to voting on any issue, the members of the Student Council shall discuss the merits and disadvantages of each course of action. The Student Council shall set the rules of order for debate, but no member may be denied the right to speak at least once on an issue, and debate may not be closed except when no additional members wish to speak or by a Motion of Cloture passed by the consent of two-thirds of the entire council.
Section V-Voting: All significant issues shall be resolved by vote. Student Council votes, except in cases of discipline or at the request of three members, shall be by show of hands. In the cases named, secret ballot shall be used. In Student Council votes, all members shall have equal votes with the exception of the Chair, who shall not vote unless his or her vote shall impact the final decision, voting is by secret ballot, or the membership of Student Council allows the Chair to participate in debate and voting by a two-thirds vote. A majority vote shall be sufficient to pass a Student Council action except as described in this Constitution. All votes shall be of the full Student council, not of a Quorum unless otherwise stated.
Section VI-Administrative Veto Power: All Student Council proposals, petitions, and other action shall be forwarded to the Head of Middle School by an executive board member and/or faculty advisor within two school days of passage. The head of Middle School shall then be responsible for reviewing the act in a timely fashion and shall either give his approval of it and pass it if the action called for under it is within his authority and forward it to the Headmaster if said action is not within the MS Head’s authority, or veto its passage by returning the act to Student Council with his reason for dissent to it. A veto shall be final, and action shall not take full effect until duly approved.
Article V-Campaign and Elections
Section I-Spring and Fall Elections: The elections for Student Council positions shall be divided into two phases. The first phase shall be the election of Officers, and shall be conducted during May of the year preceding the term in office to be filled by election. This phase shall hereinafter be referred to as Spring Elections. The second phase, hereinafter referred to as Fall Elections, shall consist of the election of grade representatives.
Section II-Candidacy: Candidacy for Student Council shall be self-nominated, effected by presenting one’s name, position sought, and platform to the Faculty Advisers. A Grade Representative may only represent his or her grade level. The President and Vice President shall be eighth grade students while in office, the Secretary shall be a seventh or eighth grade student while in office, and the Treasurer shall be a seventh grade student while in office. The Faculty Advisers may deny candidacy to a student who does not meet the requirements of Article II and the head of Middle School may deny candidacy for any reasonable cause.
Section III-Campaign: All candidates shall have the right to hang campaign posters and distribute campaign materials upon duly nominating themselves. Limits upon the quantities and types of posters and materials may be set by student council. Campaign (counted from first day nominations may be presented) shall continue for at least five school days before Fall Elections and at least ten school days before Spring Elections.
Section IV-Inappropriate Campaigning: Attempts to solicit votes other than by legitimately advertising one’s platform shall be prohibited. Specifically forbidden shall be the distribution of gifts or bribes on the school premises. Inappropriate campaigning shall be punishable by rescinding of candidacy and/or disciplinary action.
Section V-The Vice-Presidency: The offices of Treasurer, Secretary, President, and Grade Representative may be sought by standard procedure. However, the Vice-President shall be chosen outside of the main election. The second-highest-ranked candidate for President shall become the Vice-President.
Section VI-Speeches: Candidates shall give speeches outlining their platform to the constituencies involved as part of campaign. Grade representative candidates shall give their speeches to their own grade. Executive board candidates shall make their speeches to the students of fifth, sixth, and seventh grades.
Section VII-Voting: Following the speeches, voters will cast ballots. Each voter shall award two votes to one candidate for each position and a single vote to as many or as few other candidates as he or she shall choose. The sum of the votes given to each candidate shall be found, and in offices held by one person the candidate receiving the highest ranking shall be deemed elected. In offices held by multiple people, the highest-ranked candidates, in descending order until all positions are filled or no candidates remain, shall be deemed elected. Tie votes will be broken by run-off elections.
Article VI-Accountability and Discipline
Section I-General Provisions: The Bancroft Middle School Student Council shall be fully accountable to the student body of the Bancroft Middle School in all its actions. To ensure this, the following measures shall be taken: First, all minutes and agendas of meetings shall be posted in a public place, accessible to all students. Second, officers shall from time to time make reports to the student body. Third, students believing themselves poorly represented or in any way wronged or aggrieved by student council shall have the right to lodge complaints with the officers and faculty advisors of student council. Fourth, there shall be a system by which members of Student Council may be disciplined. The purpose of the remainder of this article shall be devoted to more fully describing the disciplinary system.
Section II-Reprimands: A Student Council member who shall behave detrimentally to the operations and/or reputation of the Student Council, which shall include failing to perform the duties described in Article III, shall be reprimanded by a two-thirds vote of the full Student Council. A member who shall be assigned to three Detentions within fifty school days, who shall be absent from a Student Council meeting without due excuse, or who shall be three times tardy to a Student Council meeting in a Trimester without due excuse shall be reprimanded automatically. Furthermore, the Faculty Advisers shall have the right to issue Reprimands in response to student complaints. A Reprimand shall be formally recorded but shall not deny a member any privileges.
Section III-Censure: A member of Student Council who puts the Student Council in disrepute or interferes with its business very severely may be censured by the Student Council. Prior to Censure, Articles of Censure must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the full Student Council or imposed by the Faculty Advisers upon the member accumulating three Reprimands. Following the passage of Articles of Censure, the member in question shall be given opportunity at a hearing to show cause why severe discipline should not be imposed. If after such hearing it shall be the opinion of four-fifths of the Student Council that Censure and severe discipline are warranted, the member shall be deemed censured and shall cease to be a member of Student Council until a Disciplinary Conference has occurred.
Section IV-Disciplinary Conference: A censured member or one suspended from the Bancroft School or placed on disciplinary probation therein shall meet with the Executive Board, the Faculty Advisers, and the Head of Middle School in a Disciplinary Conference. Following a discussion of the offences, the Head of Middle School shall impose a penalty up to removal from office. In addition, a member of Student Council may be summoned to a Disciplinary Conference by order of the Head of Middle School, at the request of the middle school faculty, or by a petition bearing the signatures of one fourth of the student body of the Bancroft Middle School.